As we passed a jar of vinaigrette around the table at a recent dinner party, one of the other guests asked if we knew why homemade vinaigrettes separated while most store-bought vinaigrettes didn't. This is what we replied...
As we passed a jar of vinaigrette around the table at a recent dinner party, one of the other guests asked if we knew why homemade vinaigrettes separated while most store-bought vinaigrettes didn't. This is what we replied...
Homemade oil and vinegar salad dressings - vinaigrettes - are technically called temporary emulsions. This means that the oil and liquid, which naturally wouldn't join together, can be temporarily interspersed within each other by rapid whisking or shaking. But because there's nothing really holding the oil and water droplets together on a chemical level, they eventually separate back out again.
Commercial salad dressings are usually made with a lot of additives and emulsifying agents that keep the vinaigrette from separating. Some of them are natural, like lecithin (found in egg yolks). Others are, shall we say, not quite so natural.
If you want to keep your homemade vinaigrette from separating so quickly, you can slow things down by adding other ingredients like mustard, black pepper, or dried spices. You can even suspend it permanently by whisking in an egg yolk. These other ingredients also make the vinaigrette thicker and creamier.
But rest assured, it's perfectly normal for vinaigrettes to separate and doesn't mean that anything has gone wrong!
What's your favorite kind of vinaigrette?
Related: Good Question: Vinegar Alternative for Salad Dressing?
(Image: Flickr member chrisdlugosz licensed under Creative Commons)
My favorite kind has got to be a basic balsamic vinaigrette. I usually do 1:1 with balsamic vinegar and olive oil (I like it tart!) and then add a little bit of maple syrup for sweetness and a small bit of mayo to help it emulsify. And salt and pepper, of course.
If I'm not feeling the balsamic vinaigrette, I'll use apple cider vinegar...though that is usually a bit more tart and so I'll do something more like a 1:2 vinegar to oil ratio.
view laetitiae's profile
I love pungent balsamic/olive oil vinegarettes --
One of my favorite dressings of all time is super easy -- one part italian dressing (home made or store bought), one part balsamic, one part olive oil. Put this over a salad of crunchy bibb lettuce, bleu cheese, thinly sliced red onion, and toasted walnuts --- MMMMmmmm. Add a little cold chicken and/or bacon and it's a meal by itself.
view mlleErica's profile
i don't really like emulsified vinaigrettes anyway. a quick stir or shake of my homemade one does the trick.
my fav is modified french vinaigrette, using a champagne or muscat vinegar (1 part vinegar to 2 parts fruity olive oil). i chop (not mince) LOTS of shallot, a bit of dijon, and S P to taste. it's a really nice, more delicate vinagrette.
view fivealive1969's profile
Champagne vinaigrette. It's lighter than balsamic vinaigrette, which is too tart for my liking.
view michelleb's profile
mmmmmmmm.
A sweet-tart balsamic vinagrette...I'm more of a 1:1 kind of girl, too, made with the best oo, a tsp. or so of sugar or honey and salt and pepper. This is our standby. Fantastic with blue cheese crumbles, craisins and toasted almonds over mixed greens. Add grilled chicken if you like.
I also adore a Champagne vinagrette. MUST have minced shallots and is best with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to freshen it up. Delicious on chilled asparagus, artichokes or watermelon. Or salad, of course.
Another different but SUPER fabulous one is:
fresh squeezed lime juice and brown sugar in about 2:1 or 1:1, minced shallot, very thinly sliced serrano or other hot pepper, and chopped cilantro. You're going for about an equal proportion of shallot/pepper/cilantro mix to liquid, so just use a fork and stir rather than trying to whisk. I use this constantly in the summer over a salad of chopped romaine or butter lettuce, julienned sweet peppers, fresh mango and pineapple and grilled pork or chicken. Insanely addictive. Plus, no fat or oil!
view splatgirl's profile
My favorite is the one I prepared last night to dress our greens: diced shallot or red onion, vinegar-sherry, red/white wine, balsamic, apple cider, etc., spoonful of dijon, salt/pepper and a generous steady stream of Bariani's extra virgin olive oil.
view rosebud's profile
I always add a bit of mustard, which acts as an emulsifier (the herbs and spices, while yummy, will not actually do much to keep it from separating).
view angorian's profile
I'm a fickle salad eater. I go through spells where it's all about one kind of dressing and then I dump that one and go to the next. My latest love has been a spicy Korean dressing (I'm posting the recipe later this week, in fact) but I just broke up with a great creamy sesame dressing that really deserves to be loved by others:
http://danamccauley.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/creamy-sesame-salad-dressing
view Dana McCauley's profile
My go-to is balsalmic, but recently I've been kind of into vinaigrette with sherry vinegar and a squeeze of lime juice.
I find when I blend my vinaigrettes with an emersion blender they tend to hold together for quite a while. I think the speed of the blender just takes it to a level that my shaking, no matter how aggressive, can not get to.
view jess pith's profile
I always make mine with mustard (a sweet hot mustard is ideal,) but it always seperates anyway. When it seperates in the fridge, my top layer (fats) solidifies and that drives me crazy.
view karaalexis's profile
Mostly balsamic vinegar with just enough oil to stick to the food. I love vinegar. My husband laughs because I have no issues eating just vinegar on any food and sometimes a shot of plain apple cider vinegar.
view clgoggans's profile